Plants sometimes take one by surprise. You know they are there but maybe they have grown slowly and failed to make an impact, perhaps they are overshadowed by bolder neighbours. Then suddenly they are discovered, flowering away and you wonder where they have been all this time. Erythronium 'Pagoda' has behaved this way in our garden. Over the past five years it has slowly increased to form a good clump of mottled leaves with one or two flowers but this year is covered in blooms with plenty of upright, glossy leaves.

'Pagoda' was bought five years ago from a nursery we came across while driving around the countryside north of Richmond. Although light shade is usually recommended for erythroniums, the nurseryman had found 'Pagoda' to do well in brighter conditions and he advised an open, sunny spot. Ours was duly planted in a south facing, well-drained bed where it flowers before the herbaceous perennials such as delphiniums have got much beyond their first few leaves, and dies back just as they begin to grow over it. 'Pagoda' grows about 30cm tall and has pale yellow flowers.

There are several other erythroniums including E.californicum with chrome yellow based cream flowers on stems up to 45cm long, lower growing E.citrinum which forms large clumps with many white flowers and E.oregonum with large creamy white flowers and leaves mottled with light brown and white.

Erythronium dens-canis is the true dog's-tooth violet, the name comes from the shape of the corm, and has rose coloured flowers on 10cm stems and purple marked leaves. There are several different coloured varieties of this species including 'Lilac Wonder'. 'Rose Beauty' and 'Snow Flake'.

Weekend catch-up

Check all clematis as growth, especially that of April and May flowering varieties, is very fast at this time of year. Tie in new shoots to stop the stems becoming tangled as they use each other for support.

Updated: 09:14 Saturday, April 13, 2002